Vehicle



(No Model.)

' SQMIL'LS.

Y y VEHICLE. y v No. 534,048. Patented Feb. l2, 1895.

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Tn: mams PETERS co, Fumo-umu.. wAsmNcToN u c UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE..

SAMUEL MILLS, OF BUOKEYE A.OITYfASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MARY L.

FITZGERALD, OF NEW CASTLE, OHIO.

VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,048, dated February12, 1895.

Apprenti@ nea Mmm. 1894.

Serial No, 501,907 (No model.)

To otZZ whom, t nwty con/cern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL MILLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buckeye City, in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicles; and I doherebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement lin wagons;and it consists in thearrangement and combination of parts which will bemore fully describedhereinafter.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wagon in which my invention is shown.Fig. 2 is a plan view, with the bed removed and the front bolster partlybroken away. Fig. 3 is an inverted view; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 aredetail views of the same.

A represents the two axles, and on the rear one is placed the rearbolster B, provided with standards C, in the usual manner. The rearbolster rests partly on the axle and partly on the ltwo side bars orreaches D, which are rigidly secured at their front ends to the frontbolster E, the rear bolster being recessed on its under side so as tofit down over the reaches. Secured to the inner edges of the reachesjust in front of the rear bolster, are the two rear hounds F, which areinclined toward each other at their front ends, as shown, and arerigidly secured to the under side of the front bolster E, and betweentheir front ends is secured the rod or bar G, which is provided with aseries of perforations H, through any one of which the bolt I,

.is passed according as it is desired to change lthe pivotal point ofthe running gear.

The front end ofthis bar G, projects through the guiding loop J, formedon the front axlehand has the chain K secured `to its front end so as tolimit the distance that the front axle shall turn in either direction,and thus prevent the wheels from striking the side of the wagon bed whenthe wagon is turned in either direction. Projecting back from the top ofthe front axle is the supporting plate or casting L, through which aremade a series of perforations corresponding to the ones II, in the barG, and which casting serves as a support for the front end of therunning gear. By changing the bolt I, from one perforation H to another,a longer or ashorter turning motion is allowed the front axle. If thebolt is placed in lthe forward hole, the axle will turn until the wheelsstrike against the sides of the bed whether the chain is used or not,but if the bolt is placed in the rear hole of both the barG and theplate L, the chain limits the distance the front axle will turn.

Either formed with it in a single casting, or secured to the supportingplate L is the bent plate f, which extends under and beyond the frontedge of the front axle, and which plate or casting has its front endbifurcated so as to receive the single tree g. Secured at their rearends to the top of the front-axle are the hounds h, and which aresupported at their front ends by the plate f. Rising from the front endof these hounds 7L is a guiding loop 'i through which the tongue j,passes, and which loop allows the tongue a vertical play. The rear endof the tongue isA loosely held in a guiding loop formed on top of thelarge guiding loop J. Rising from the top of the bent platef is thespring actuated su pport Z which keeps the tongue pressed up against thetop of its guiding loop t'. The front end of the tongue has a freevertical play but is always returned to position by its spring support.

Recessed into and rigidly secured to the top of the rear axle are thebars M, one of which extends forward any suitable distance under eachreach D, and secured to the under side of the rear axle at their rearends, and to the under sideof the bars M are the bent plates N, whichhave the cogs or teeth O formed on their outer edges. These plates N,form guiding loops in which the partially turning brake rod P moves backand forth, the rod being entirely supported in the loops, and providedwith the cog wheels Q which mesh with the cogs O on the plates N. TheseWheels Q serve to prevent the rod P from having any other than a turningone by engaging with the cogs O, and by catching against the outer sidesof the reaches and the plates N, keep the rod from having an endwisemovement. Secured to the center of this brake rod is a weighted rod R,which serves, as it passes over the center of therod, to give it a throwor movement forward or back, and thus move the blocks S entirely awayfrom or throw them quickly in contact with the wheels. The brake blocksS are swveled or loosely attached to the rod so as to be self adjustingwhen they come in contact with the wheels.

Fastened to one of the wheels Q is a wire rope, chain, or wire 'l whichpasses back around the guiding pulleyU, and is then fastened at itsfront end to the lever V. lVhen this lever V is thrown forward by thedriver, the brake blocks are drawn back against the wheels, and when thelever is released, the reaction of the blocks away from the Wheelscauses the brake rod to spring back far enough to make it turn partiallyaround.` and as soon as the weighted lever R passes over the center ofthe rod, its weight causes the rod to continue to turn so as to move theblocks entirely away from the wheels. Vhen it is desired to keep theblocks out of contact with the wheels, a second chain,cable, rope orwire lV, having a loop on its rear end, is made to catch over the end ofthe rod, and thus prevent it from being moved backward.

Loosely connected at their front ends to the tops of the front standardsZ which are located in the rear of the front axle, by any suitablefastenings, is the seat X, which is provided with a support Y, at eachend, and which supports have their lower ends to catch in suitablesockets formed for them on the reaches when the seat is in position.Then it is desired to remove the wagon bed, the seat can be movedforward out of the way, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and thenreturned to position as shown in Fig. 2 thus enabling the seat to beused independently of the bed.

The wagon bed p has its side pieces grooved at their ends so as toreceive the ends of the end boards or gates w and the four parts aresecured together by rods o passed through the ends of the side boards inthe usual manner. These side boards rest upon the rods a, which aresecured to the cross piece b which extends across their center, and ontop of the ends of this cross piece b, are horizontal blocks c which arealso secured to the outer sides of the rods a. Rising from the blocks care the Vertical braces or supports d, which extend up the sides of theside boards, and up through the bottom t, and across bar b, at oppositeends project curved catches e. which pass through the side pieces, neartheir lower edges, as shown in Fig. 5. lVhen the end gates are removedthe side pieces fold inward on the bottom out of the way, as shown indotted lines.

The rear end gate of the wagon bed is of ordinary construction, but thefront end gate w, as shown in Fig. G, has the foot board secured toit.To the upper edge of this end gate is secured the bar y, and secured tothe bar at any suitable inclination is the foot board which has suitablebraces e, secured toits outer side. To the outer side of this end gateare also secured vertical braces a to prevent the board from warping.

From the construction here shown and described, it will be'seen thatwhen the front axle is moved around in either direction in making aturn, the front of the running gear moves in the opposite direction,thus enabling a very short turn to be made. The location of the frontbolster in rear of the front axle enables the front axle to be turned ata sharp angle before the Wagon bed is alfected. The seat being securedto the front holsters, and the brake being placed upon the running gear,the bed can be removed and these parts used independently of it.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-- l. The front standardscombined with the seat which is loosely connected thereto, and providedwith the supports Y, at its rear edge, the seat being adapted to bemoved forward out of the way when the bed is to be removed,substantially as described.

2. The reaches, the toothed guiding loops, the brake rod or bar,provided with pinions to engage with the teeth on the loops, and thelever, combined with the chain or cable con nectcd to both lever, androd or bar, and a guiding pulley, around which the chain or cablepasses, substantially as set forth.

3. The front axle, a support extending backward from it, the reaches, arod or bar secured to their front ends and pivoted upon the support, anda chain for limiting the distance the front axle shall turn,substantially as specified.

et. The running gear, a supporting plate or casting secured to the frontaxle, and provided with a guiding loop, and a rod or bar secured to thefront end of the reaches, combined with a chain for limiting thedistance the front axle shall turn, substantially as shown.

5. The front axle, the front hounds 7L, secured to the axle, and theplate f, secured to the under side of the axle, and having its front endpronged, combined with the double tree pivoted in the pronged end,substantially as shown.

6. The combination of the front axle, the front hounds secured thereto,a vertical loop secured to the front end of the hounds, a spring supportfor the tongue located in the rear of the loop, and a second guidingloop, for the rear end of the tongue located on top of the front axle,substantially as described.

7. 'lhe wagon bed composed of side pieces or boards, the end gatesclamped between the side pieces, the cross pieces b, which extend acrossthe under side of the body, the rods or bars a, secured to the crosspieces, and upon which the side pieces rest; and the curved hooks orcatches e, which project up through the bottom and form pivots on whichthe side pieces turn, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL MILLS. lVitnesses:

CLINTON M. RICE, JOHN B. DURBIN.

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